Episode 1 | Knowing Allah | Introduction & The Name Allah

Introduction

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ

JazakumAllahu khairan everybody for attending this session and the start of this series on one of the greatest topics and the greatest subjects that anybody could ever study. And that is the subject of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. There is no greater thing to study, there is no greater subject to study. Nothing greater we can understand beyond Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Qur'an:

And to Allah belong the most beautiful names. So call him using those names.

And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Qur'an, as was just recited in Salah:

O believers, be conscious of Allah. And everybody should look at what they have prepared for the Day of Judgment, and be conscious of Allah. Allah is all aware of what you do.

And then Allah begins a few verses later to describe his beautiful names from start to end. And so the topic that we are studying is one of the greatest topics in the Qur'an and one of the topics most frequently studied.

The Story of Musa and the First Introduction

If we were to start with a story, let us start with the story of Musa alayhis salaam. When Musa alayhis salaam at the age of around 40 is given his mission to be a prophet. And he's given the very difficult problem of going and standing up to the tyrant, the dictator of his time, Firaun.

You can imagine that this man Musa alayhis salaam is very scared. Because he's standing against not just a man but an army. And he's one man.

And how does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala prepare him to stand up to Firaun? When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala communicates to Musa for the first time, and he reveals to Musa for the first time, the first thing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says to him is that he introduces himself to Musa. When Musa alayhis salaam sees the burning tree, and he comes close to the tree, Musa alayhis salaam hears the words of Allah. As Allah says:

The first thing Allah says to Musa: "Musa, you should know, it is me. I am Allah. There's nothing you should reach to in your times of difficulty except me. So be in service of me. And establish salah to remember."

The first speech Allah gives to Musa is: I am Allah. And we won't realize the weight of this statement until we understand — what does Allah really mean?

This sentence, I am Allah, was enough to make Musa stand alone in front of an army. To make Musa alayhis salaam stand alone in front of the biggest dictator and the most fearsome man on the planet. The statement, I am Allah, was enough to motivate him. Because he knew who he was doing it for.

Why We Must Know Allah

Many of us, our lives, we live them on autopilot. Like zombies. We wake up in the morning, and we go through our routine, and we sleep at night. And in the day, in the busyness and the hecticness of the day, there is not a moment where we remember — what are we doing it all for?

In fact, according to some scholars, the core reason Allah made us is to know Him. We all know this ayah:

Allah says in the Qur'an: I only created humankind and jinn kind just to worship me. Abdullah ibn Abbas said: لِيَعْبُدُونِ — "To worship me" — meaning: I created them so they can know me.

Imagine that. That Allah made us and gave us minds and eyes and ears so that we can get to know Allah. That is the reason He created these faculties. And we know so much about so many things in this world — from the trees to the plants, to the bricks. But how much do we know about Allah? We should really be ashamed of ourselves.

The Greatest Verse in the Qur'an

And this is why, when the Prophet ﷺ asked one of his companions, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, he asked him: What is the greatest ayah in the Qur'an? This is a very difficult question. The Qur'an has so many verses. And they're all great verses. How can you choose one?

In fact, if I take you to a shop and I ask you to choose a t-shirt, you will take 30 minutes. But Ubayy ibn Ka'b is asked — choose the greatest verse in the Qur'an, now. And Ubayy ibn Ka'b says: I don't know. Allah and His Messenger know best. So the Prophet ﷺ says: No, tell me. What is the greatest verse in the Qur'an?

And then Ubayy ibn Ka'b recites Ayat al-Kursi. The Prophet ﷺ hit him on the chest, out of happiness. And he said: You have destroyed all of knowledge. You killed it, as we say today. You smashed it. You've done a brilliant job.

How did he know that this is the greatest verse in the Qur'an? Because this verse describes Allah. And it describes Allah in the most complete way. That is why the Prophet ﷺ would recite it after every prayer. And before he slept. And in the morning and in the evening. If you count it, the Prophet ﷺ would read this verse 8 times every day. Because it describes Allah. And what better to move a person's heart, and to bring it back to life, than to remember who it is — all of it is for. What are we doing it all for?

So now that you know how important this subject is, and that this was the core focus of the Messenger ﷺ when he taught his companions — the first and the number one and the most important thing he taught them was: who is their creator?

The First Name: Allah

Now let us go to the first name of Allah that we will discuss. And that is the name — Allah.

What does Allah mean? The Arab linguists had a debate. Because in Arabic, names come from root letters. Like when you go to the gold shop — you see a ring, you see a necklace, you see earrings. But the main way for someone to know the value of these things? It's the gold. How many grams of gold? In the end, all of these things are different forms, different shapes. But in the end, it comes back to gold.

Like this, in Arabic, there are words. Daraba — he hit. Darib — he is a beater. Madrub — someone who was beaten. So in Arabic, the way words work — unlike English — you have root letters, and many words come out of that. Semitic languages are like this: Hebrew, Aramaic, Urdu, Arabic. They have root letters, and many words are coming out of this. Think of it like gold — and then you have rings, and you have bracelets, and you have necklaces. So many different forms, each one beautiful in a different way. But it has the same source.

Is "Allah" a Proper Name or Derived?

Now — Allah. There is one type of word in Arabic: words that have a source, that come from specific root letters. There is another type: a proper name. Not taken from anything. Like for example, Manchester. Does Manchester have some root letters? No. That is the name of the city — it wasn't taken from anything else. That is the proper name of the city, Manchester. Mexico is the name of the country — it wasn't derived from anything. Basra, in Iraq — now, basar means eye. Does the city of Basra have anything to do with the eye? No. There is no relation. There is no link. It's just a name.

So this is what the scholars of the Arabic language had a disagreement over. Allah — is that the proper name of Allah, his actual name? Or does it come from some root letters? Al-Ilah. The Ilah. We'll describe what Ilah means shortly.

The majority of scholars went to the opinion that it is derived — that this name comes from Al-Ilah, not that it is a proper name of Allah. And they had a number of evidences for this. But one interesting evidence I can share with you:

Think about it. The Qur'an is in Arabic. The Arabs knew the name Allah before the Qur'an came. The Arab poets — the Jahili poets, before Islam, before the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ — they were saying the word Allah. Yes. But before, before, before — didn't Allah reveal books to other prophets? What language did Isa alayhis salaam speak?

Aramaic. Very good. This name — Isa alayhis salaam spoke a language called Aramaic. Not Arabic. And in the oldest scriptures — now we don't know really what was in the Injil that Allah revealed to Isa alayhis salaam, because it's been edited by many, many editors — but our best guess: what was the word used to call Allah in the Aramaic scripture? Elohim. Elohim. Sounds very similar to Al-Ilah. Other words in the Hebrew Bible: they use the word Yahweh. Or Eli. Similar — comes from a similar root. Al-Ilah.

And so this is why many scholars said that Allah comes from the words Al-Ilah. And when the Aramaic or the Hebrew or the other peoples spoke to Allah, they didn't use the word Allah — they used Elohim, they used Eli, they used other words. But it means the same thing.

Other scholars in Islam said: no. Allah is his name and everybody called him Allah. And they have their evidences. We're not going to go into all of this in detail. But the majority of scholars — including Sibawayh, Ibn al-Qayyim, Al-Raghib al-Isfahani, Al-Farahidi, and many Arabic language scholars — said Al-Ilah.

The Meaning of Al-Ilah

Now we come to this: what does Al-Ilah mean? We know that Al in Arabic means "the." But what does Ilah mean? This is where we have come to the gold. We have taken the jewelry apart, we've melted it, we've come to the gold — the source.

All the English translations will tell you Ilah means "the one worthy of worship." So Allah means "the one worthy of worship." No, habibi. The word is much more deeper than this. The English translation killed it. It destroyed it. If I tell you Mexico is a country — that's it? It's nothing interesting there. It's just a country.

First Meaning: Awe and Wonder

The scholars said Ilah has two possible root letters. The first possibility comes from the word meaning to be in awe of something. You know when you say "this is awesome" — to be amazed, tahayyara, to be amazed by something. So Allah — Al-Ilah — He is the most amazing. The one who makes your jaw drop when you know who He is. He fills you with fear and with awe and with respect. This is the first meaning of Al-Ilah.

Second Meaning: Refuge and Protection

Then you have another meaning. Aliha ila al-shay' — in Arabic, this is used when somebody is afraid of something and they go and they hide. When you're in war and you see the bullets and the bombs — you go quickly, you dig a tunnel, and you hide. You have just sought protection on the earth.

Which means Al-Ilah — who is Al-Ilah? When the world pushes you and shoves you and squeezes you and troubles you — you go looking for your source of peace and protection and contentment. That's what Al-Ilah is. The one you go to when you are in trouble. Your SOS line. Your 999. That is Al-Ilah. The one you go to for peace. The one you go to for comfort. The one you go to for contentment. The one you go to for help. For protection.

How many of us in our lives — when something bad happens to us — the first thing we think of is our mother. Or we think of something to cool us down. Something to put us to sleep. Something to calm us. When there is a storm. Difficult times. Problems in the marriage. Financial difficulties. The petrol rates are going up. The supermarket — everything is more expensive. Where do you go?

The Prophet ﷺ — when the world got tough for him, he would run away to Salah. That was his peace. That was his happiness. Salah cooled him. That is what Al-Ilah is — the one you go to to find peace and cool when everything gets hot and difficult.

Third Meaning: Intense Love

This is just one portion of the meaning of Ilah. Some scholars said Al-Ilah comes from walaha — which is intense love. The one who you love to such an extent it makes you forget everything else. That is Al-Walah.

In Arabic there are many words for love: Hubb, Mahabbah, Mawaddah, Tatayyum, Al-Ishq, Al-Gharam. These words — Al-Ishq, Al-Gharam — are only used generally in Arabic by the poets. The ones writing the love stories and the love letters. Those who are Urdu speakers, you know the word Ishq. People don't usually use it for mother and father or for Allah — they use it only for their beloved.

Al-Walah in Arabic is one of the highest forms of love. One of the ways it is used is for the love of a mother for her child, and the love of a child for their mother. Al-Hanun. And so Al-Ilah is the one whom we love. And in the one whom we love, we find peace. And we find calmness. And everything else makes sense because of our love for Him.

Summary of the Three Meanings of Al-Ilah

These are the three meanings of Al-Ilah:

One — the one who is most intensely loved. Two — the one who we go to in times of difficulty and struggle and pain; the one who we seek protection and refuge and calm and peace in. Three — the one who is worshipped; the one who we bow our heads down to; the one who, when He says, we do and we don't ask; the one who we give our souls for; we take a bullet for; we sacrifice for; we do anything for.

He is Al-Ilah. And Al-Ilah — through a process the scholars call Ibdal — became Allah. And this is just one name of Allah.

The Greatest Name of Allah

And the scholars said that this is the greatest name of Allah — Al-Ism Al-A'zam. The scholars differed. Because there is a statement of the Prophet ﷺ that Allah has one name — the greatest name of Allah:

(Referenced in Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 1496; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 3856)

If He is called by this name, He responds. And if you ask Him using this name, He gives you.

Scholars differed over which name this is. Many scholars said this is like Laylatul Qadr — we don't know, but we have to search using every name of Allah to see which name is that one, that golden name. But many scholars said it is Allah. Because all of the names come under this name, and they describe this name. And this is the ultimate description of Allah.

And it is narrated in a hadith of the Prophet ﷺ that the Day of Judgment will not come until there is not a person on this earth who says Allah, Allah. When there is on this earth nobody who says the name of Allah, the Day of Judgment is going to come. So as long as you guys are here — and the ladies and the gentlemen are here — saying the name of Allah, it is not time yet.

Now — does it mean only the name Allah, or all of the names of Allah? If somebody is saying Ar-Rahman or Ar-Rahim or Al-Malik or Al-Quddus — does that mean the Day of Judgment will still not come? Allah says in the Qur'an:

Call him Allah or call him Ar-Rahman — all of them are his names. So many scholars deduce that this doesn't mean you have to say the word Allah specifically, but that the Day of Judgment will come when there is nobody on earth to remember Him by any name of Allah.

And as Allah says in the Qur'an:

Allah would never punish them while they are seeking His forgiveness. The Day of Judgment will not come as long as we are remembering Allah.

La Ilaha Illallah — Its True Meaning

And so — this is one name of Allah: Al-Ilah. One meaning is the one who is most intensely loved. One meaning is the one we go to in times of difficulty — the one who protects us, the one who shades us, the one we find peace and contentment in. And we say Al-Ilah is the one who only deserves worship, and deserves servitude, and deserves salah and zakah and all of our attention.

Because people can make anything in their life an Ilah. Is it not true that people love some things more than Allah? It's true — it happens, right? What does Allah say in the Qur'an?

Have you seen the people who made their desires their Ilah? What does that mean? Whenever they have a difficult time, a painful time — they go straight to their desires. They fulfill their desires. They go out for a munch, it makes them feel better. They fulfill some of their more haram desires, it makes them feel better. They don't turn to Allah. They love those things more than Allah. This is very dangerous.

And what about those — as Allah says in the Qur'an — they have equals to Allah. They love something else more than Allah. There are people who love wealth more than Allah. They love their job more than Allah. They love their spouse more than Allah. So if their wife or husband, or their job, or money tells them something — they're willing to throw Allah's laws in the bin in order to get a bit more of their wealth, or a bit more happiness from their wife, or a bit more recognition from society — because Allah doesn't matter that much to them.

So when you say لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ — that means there is no one you love more than Allah. There is no one who deserves your attention more than Allah. There is no one you turn to — when push comes to shove and difficult times come — more than Allah. There is no one you worship but Allah.

When you cry, you cry for Allah. When you give up, you give up with your head on the ground. When the world pushes you to your knees, you raise your hands to Allah. This is what لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ means. Nothing matters to you more than Allah.

If somebody is giving you a job and it displeases Allah, you say no — because Allah is more beloved to you. If a woman is offering herself or a man is offering himself, and they slide into your direct messages and they're tempting you — you push them aside because Allah comes first. This is what it means to say لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ.

Closing

And that is all we will cover today. And inshallah in the coming weeks we will continue in our journey to get to know our Creator. Salatul Isha is in 12 minutes, so inshallah remember Allah between Salah and Salah.

Assalamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.